Lonely (Working Title)
by Vassindi
Summary: Lothar's soldiers try to comfort their commander the best they can after all he's been through, they never guessed the solution would come from Khadgar. May be just a one shot I'll see how it goes.


To say Lothar had been having problems sleeping was an understatement. Sometimes he would wake up screaming - the whole camp thought they were under attack more than once - and if it wasn't the nightmares it was the all-hours-of-the-morning pacing he did. Even barefoot the commander had a heavy foot. The only one who could sleep through all of this was the mage. He was _not_ combat trained, and _was_ a deep sleeper, so he slept through the screaming and pacing. The soldiers were taught to listen, and they couldn't escape the night terrors their commander faced. They felt powerless, their love and respect for Lothar manifested into searching for an answer to his now nightly ritual.

At first they brought alcohol. That worked for a night or two before their supply ran they tried exhausting the commander by training in mock combat until nightfall,however that only proved to wear themselves out. Their final attempt was building him a bed in his tent, maybe being able to sleep more comfortably would help - but their efforts were in vain. They would have never guessed that the answer came from that damned mage that could sleep through anything. 

* * *

The men had been stationed in Westfall for a time now; the farmers there needed help rebuilding after the many Orc attacks. Lothar felt that he needed to be out _defending_ his people, not _leading_ them. He had spent most of his life either fighting or drinking and he didn't feel that he was the leading type. Taira could handle the formalities and if he was truly needed Khadgar could teleport them back to the castle or Taria could send his bird.

It had been several weeks out in the open fields of the dusty farmlands. There had been no attacks in the few weeks that they had been out there as they worked tirelessly helping rebuild farms and plowing fields. Lothar decided to give the men a few days to relax. No one noticed anything out of the ordinary as it was a quiet day and everyone was having lunch near the northern part of the camp. Then, the Orc attack had come from the south. Not many, just a handful of them. They were able to fend off the attack without loss of life, after all they _had_ been fighting for quite some time now and Orc strategy didn't vary much. The only thing the orcs had managed to destroy were the majority of the tents.

 _Thank the light_ , Lothar thought, as some of those tents would have been occupied if it hadn't been lunchtime. "Alright men, some of you are going to have to double up in tents tonight until we get supplies to fix what was broken." Lothar called out among his men, as he surveyed the damaged tents. He would have to send someone to get several replacement tents, and supplies in general. One of the tents damaged was Khadgar's, he could see the mage frantically pulling the leathers back to see if anything in the tent had been damaged. The soldiers already shared tents, so they wouldn't be too upset by the sharing, though it would be a tight fit. However Lothar and Khadgar had had their own private tents. He strode over to the mage to help him as the other soldiers were busy.

"Anything damaged beyond repair?" Lothar inquired, picking up the damaged leather of the tent, placing it to the side so Khadgar could retrieve his stuff easier.

A sigh came from then mage. "Nothing that can't be repaired or replaced. I can set the tent back up, it wasn't that badly damaged, it'll just be smaller. My bed was destroyed though."

"I'm willing to share my tent with you. It's more than big enough for both of us, really, it's odd we haven't ended up sharing before." As innocent as the gesture was, it made Khadgar blush, which Lothar dismissed it as being anything since the boy always blushed. _A lot_.

"I like my space." Khadgar said matter-of-factly. "Besides I've slept on the ground before, I don't mind it."

"No need to." He didn't even wait for the protest, he lifted up Khadgar's trunk and headed towards his own tent. Khadgar scrambled to pick up what Lothar had left behind and hurried to follow.

Being Regent King now Lothar's tent had changed, it was still settled near the center of the encampment and other was most definitely bigger than it had been before. "I would have much rather stuck to my old tent but they _insisted_ on this… extra room added to my regular tent. It could have been built separately." Lothar mumbled as he pushed through the leather flaps of the tent. "It's far too big for my taste, too big to be by myself in." _It's too lonely,_ is what he had meant to say. After Cally he hadn't shared a bed with anyone, after her death he was focused on fighting, drinking, and, of course, trying to raise his son alone. Luckily he had Llane and his sister to help him when they weren't busy being King and Queen or in the 'honeymoon' stage of their marriage. With a shake of his head, he quickly brought himself back to reality. That was the past, Taria was the only one he had left save the few men lucky to survive the attack of the Gate. And then there was Khadgar. He never expected this _boy_ to worm his way into his heart like he had, it was like Khadgar had always been there, not someone he just met over a year ago. Lothar sat Khadgar's things by the desk.

"I'll make a pallet on the floor by the desk. Doesn't look like you use it anyway." Khadgar stated as he started taking books out of his trunk and setting them up on the desk. "I can go back and salvage what was left of my bed."

"Why don't you just sleep with me?" Lothar stared at Khadgar, big brown eyes staring back at him, momentarily shocked, but before the mage could speak, Lothar continued, "My bed is big enough for us, Light, big enough for probably five people. Takes up nearly the whole sleeping part of the tent." He chuckled, his men loved him well he'd give them that, however they had gone to the extreme this time.

Khadgar sighed, Lothar knew that the other was thinking things over, overthinking even. "I don't want to impose…" He said, biting that lower lip of his.

"Nonsense. I'm used to sleeping with other people in the tent with me. You are not imposing one bit, I'm surprised we haven't been sharing one already." The warrior gave Khadgar a grin, waving a hand as he exited the tent. "At least think about it while you're settling in." Lothar called back.

* * *

Khadgar was glad Lothar had left, he didn't have to hide the blush that had crept up on his cheeks. He tried to distract his mind from his thoughts by putting his things away in the unused desk. The chair would be nice to sit in while he read, as opposed to sitting on the ground slumped over, and a hard writing surface would be nice as well. Maybe he would take up the offer of sharing a tent with Lothar. The warrior had proven to be a loyal friend, something he had never had with the Kirin Tor.

At least he would attempt it. After spending so much time alone, sleeping alone, he wasn't sure how this would all play out in the end. Khadgar was willing to try it because Lothar had offered it and he shouldn't refuse his commander, Regent King, and friend.

Sighing, Khadgar pulled out the book he was reading before the Orc attack this afternoon. He settled himself in, studying until the dinner bell rang out through the camp.

* * *

Dinner was light, full mirth and watered down with some very weak wine. For Lothar he knew the alcohol would not be enough, he usually liked to drink whatever he could get from dwarves. Now they had the best stuff he could find, but the wine is weak enough it might as well be water. Maybe when the supplies came from Stormwind there would be good drink with it.

The warrior looked throughout the camp in the dying sun. He didn't see the mage anywhere; he chuckled, knowing that Khadgar had already retreated to the tent to study more. Always studying. He should invite the mage to do something with the troops, he didn't want him to think that they were just using him for his abilities, even though they were nice to have in tight situations. There was also the fact that after everything that had happened, Khadgar was one of his few actual friends he had left. Though their relationship had been short so far, they had grown close quickly. A smile stretched across the warrior's face as he got up to help his men with their evening duties.

* * *

Khadgar was back in the tent he now shared with Lothar. He had eaten quickly so he could get back to study, however when he got there he was filled with an overwhelming desire to just sleep. He really should go get his bedroll but he knew he shouldn't refuse an offer from Lothar. Khadgar was sure he would see it as a personal insult if he did refuse to share a bed with him. Lothar was his friend, though it had a rocky start he had been glued to the warrior pretty much ever since.

 _Maybe he's just lonely_. Khadgar mused, recalling some of the last words Medivh had said to him:

 _It's the loneliness that makes us weak_.

It was uttered by someone who had practically cut himself out of two of his best friend's, no _brothers_ , lives. Even after that fact Khadgar kept to himself almost every day, except, of course, when Lothar would drag him out to do something or request his presence on matters like the one they had already spent weeks at doing here in Westfall.

Khadgar sighed, grabbing his sleeping clothes before crossing the main room of the tent to the sleeping area. He had been doing everything that Medivh and Alodi warned him against, isolating himself. He _knew_ he needed to change but it's hard to change a habit he had been doing for years and years. Maybe Lothar was pointing him in the right  
direction by insisting on sharing a tent together.

* * *

It was late when Lothar finally made it back to the tent, he loved being with his soldiers and more importantly he wanted to make sure that they knew he wasn't any better than the rest of them. He would put in hard work and the same chores the rest of them did. The tent was oddly dark, he had been sure the young mage would be studying, he was _always_ studying, not just books but everyone and everything around him.

Lothar lit a candle and made his way through the tent to the makeshift bedroom, and he smiled to see that Khadgar had taken up his offer and slept in the bed, curled up in his cloak like always. The warrior set the candle down and changed into his simple linen pants he always slept in. Settling himself in the bed he glanced at his friend before extinguishing the candle; he wouldn't admit out loud that he was glad that Khadgar was sharing a tent with him now. The mage made him feel at ease, someone who challenged him, encouraged him… made him feel _safe_. For the first time in a very longtime he was able to fall asleep quickly.

* * *

Neither of them knew who moved towards who or how their limbs became entangled with one another, but it was _quite_ the surprise to the soldier who was sent to make sure  
the commander was still alright after no one was waken up by his normal nightly routine.

* * *

 **Notes**

Thanks, Eria to being my beta and encouraging me when I got stuck on it. 3

Also to the LionTrust Discord for filling me with so many ideas I'm never gonna get them all written. I love you all!

I'm horrible with titles, might change it later on if I think of a better one.


End file.
